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Switched supplier: Economy 7 smart meter not sending reads and IHD needs re-configuring?

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M
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This is the email I have sent back….please be honest with me - am I not making myself clear?

- - - - - - - - - -

Dear ****

I am trying to remain polite, but your email is the third I have received which completely ignores the issue I have reported to Ovo

I am perfectly well aware that my meter is submitting half-hourly readings and my account is in credit

**THAT IS NOT THE PROBLEM**

I am supposed to be Economy 10, but my meter is changing tariff times based on Economy 7 (8am and 1am only)

Please do not send another standard response which ignores the above point. I have kept all my emails to/from Ovo and these will be used in a formal complaint if my problem is not resolved soon

Jeffus
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Userlevel 7
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This is the email I have sent back….please be honest with me - am I not making myself clear?

- - - - - - - - - -

Dear ****

I am trying to remain polite, but your email is the third I have received which completely ignores the issue I have reported to Ovo

I am perfectly well aware that my meter is submitting half-hourly readings and my account is in credit

**THAT IS NOT THE PROBLEM**

I am supposed to be Economy 10, but my meter is changing tariff times based on Economy 7 (8am and 1am only)

Please do not send another standard response which ignores the above point. I have kept all my emails to/from Ovo and these will be used in a formal complaint if my problem is not resolved soon

Have you made any progress @MikeMilf 

M
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Userlevel 4

Hi Jeffus

Well last Wednesday a very charming lady rang and said she had confirmed my problem and made the necessary changes to update my meter remotely

Whilst she was very charming and helpful, I have actually gone backwards since then lol

My tariff timings are still E7, only now my usage stats on the website have stopped working again, from the very day she made her changes. They have only worked for about ten days since I switched from SSE in August

I keep telling myself this is very much a first world problem, so have just fired off another email and refrained from venting on the phone.  This time I have added the fact I want some financial recompense for the hours wasted on hold, sending emails that get me nowhere and not once since the beginning of August, being on the correct tariff and timings

Im beginning to think all leccy companies are just useless. SSE were useless and rude, I guess Ovo are at least polite lol

Emmanuelle_OVO
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Userlevel 7

Hey @MikeMilf,

 

I’m going to ask Forum_Support to reach out to you, please keep an eye on your private messages. 

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
J
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Userlevel 2

@MikeMilf et al - apologies for a long silence, it's taken a while to get to the stage of having an update worth posting.

 

I now have an open and active case with the Ombudsman service and they are currently investigating.  The issue remains unresolved and despite initially challenging my complaint with the ombudsman and claiming the issue was resolved a long time ago, the internal case notes that ova have added to my complaint clearly show this is not the case and that they are fully aware of what the issue is.  The following is an exact copy of two concurrent case notes added to my customer file, as supplied to the ombudsman service and made visible to me:  (all details identifying the case handler have been removed and I regard this information as being free to share as it has been supplied to me by Ovo and it directly related to me alone).

10/10/23 by [CASE HANDLER]

“SSE were billing R1 as off-peak and R2 as peak but after the migration we are billing R1 as peak and R2 as off-peak. We have reads confirming that R1 is the off-peak reading and R2 is the peak:

10th Oct 2023 10:13:26 Adhoc

-Redacted Reading-

-Redacted Reading-

10th Oct 2023 10:25:32 Adhoc

-Redacted Reading-

-Redacted Reading-

R2 advanced during the peak hours, therefore it is the peak rate. Please register R1 as off-peak with TPR 374 and R2 as peak with TPR 375'Don't think it could be much more clear”

27/10/23 by [THE SAME CASE HANDLER]

"Action have checked with metering still not done"

There is the smoking gun right there!

Ombudsman have asked for a set of test reads (submitted today) and these show that the issue is still not resolved and they will now pursue with Ovo.  I will add back any further info that I can, as and when I know more.

 

 

M
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Userlevel 4

Hi Jessica

Jeez - you really couldnt make this up could you

I contacted Ovo and said this would become a formal complain on 09.11.23 (three months after SSE migration). I was then requested not to do this as their investigation involved a specialist team. Having read your post, I get the distinct impression Ive been fed nonsense, so come 09.12.23 I will escalate without further notice.

The crux of my complaint will be:

(i) Inverted tariffs like you sufferred from migration to around 10.10.23

(ii) Since then being charged E10 rates but having E7 timing changes

(iii) Most importantly, I havent had a single sodding bill that is on the same planet as being correct. According to Ovo, my last three bills have been £17, £24 and £Nil. Thankfully Im not stupid enough to believe these are correct but is it too much to expect to get an accurate verifiable monthly bill?

Im not one for the compensation culture we live in, but there sure as hell better be a reasonable ‘goodwill gesture’ heading my way for having to deal with this nonsense

 

………...and breathe…...

 

 

 

Emmanuelle_OVO
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Userlevel 7

Hey @MikeMilf,

 

So sorry to hear this, 

 

If you are unhappy with the timeframes then the option to escalate your complaint might be best in this scenario. This kind of issue would need to be dealt with by a specialist team, so it sounds like it’s been raised internally and in the process of being resolved, but it sounds like you’re concerned with the time this is taking to resolve. 

 

You can find the full complaint procedure on the website. 

 

Really hope this gets sorted for you as soon as possible. 

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
J
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Userlevel 2

@MikeMilf The verdict is in.  After allowing Ovo to submit their evidence, the Ombudsman has delivered a verdict (took a grand total of 1 working day for them to decide this, its that clear cut).

Complaint upheld on both counts - The meters are being billed incorrectly - we know this but Ovo’s representatives still tried to convince the ombudsman that they’d fixed the problem and I’m complaining about nothing. (I had the same from my ova complaint handler from the specialist team who actually accused me of lying and not being able to read my electricity meter and bill!  I do hope someone listens back to that call as part of an internal de-brief on this!)

Second complaint about shocking customer service and deliberate inaction to resolve the issue also upheld.

Ombudsmans required resolution:  28 days to resolve the issue or face further action and a higher bill credit than I had originally been offered.  The clock starts on those 28 days as of tomorrow, place your bets whether Ovo will actually meet the deadline or whether this will fester on even further.

Jeffus
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Hi Jessica

Jeez - you really couldnt make this up could you

I contacted Ovo and said this would become a formal complain on 09.11.23 (three months after SSE migration). I was then requested not to do this as their investigation involved a specialist team. Having read your post, I get the distinct impression Ive been fed nonsense, so come 09.12.23 I will escalate without further notice.

The crux of my complaint will be:

(i) Inverted tariffs like you sufferred from migration to around 10.10.23

(ii) Since then being charged E10 rates but having E7 timing changes

(iii) Most importantly, I havent had a single sodding bill that is on the same planet as being correct. According to Ovo, my last three bills have been £17, £24 and £Nil. Thankfully Im not stupid enough to believe these are correct but is it too much to expect to get an accurate verifiable monthly bill?

Im not one for the compensation culture we live in, but there sure as hell better be a reasonable ‘goodwill gesture’ heading my way for having to deal with this nonsense

 

………...and breathe…...

 

 

 

OVO are currently the worst supplier in the country pro rata for the number of complaints escalated to the Energy Ombudsman and Citizens Advice.

So I am not completely surprised at the time it is taking.

Emmanuelle_OVO
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Userlevel 7

I’m sorry to hear of the experience you’ve had @JessicaRose, I’m glad that the Ombudsman are taking action.

 

Hope this gets sorted as soon as possible for you.

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.
M
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Userlevel 4

Well im speechless lol

Rather than ignore the matter I have sent two emails to Ovo suggesting that my billing is totally incorrect. Short of laying it out to them in Janet and John fashion, theres no more Im prepared to do

Ive had two replies, the latest just now saying they have carefully reviewed the account, the credit balance is correct, and the billing issue has been resolved.

Either Im being emailed by AI simpletons, incompetent humans, or Im being straight out lied to!

Id love to claim the credit balance and have it sit in my bank account whilst waiting for them to realise the clanger they have dropped. However as I refuse to give these clowns a DD authority, I fall foul of their “No DD, No Rebates policy” which surely shouldnt be allowed?

Im off to the off licence now to get some booze and raise a glass to Ovo Energy! lol

 

 

Firedog
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Re-reading through this fascinating saga to see if there’s anything that might be helpful to another customer in similar circumstances. I stopped short here:

  

 

“‘… We have reads confirming that R1 is the off-peak reading and R2 is the peak:

‘R2 advanced during the peak hours, therefore it is the peak rate. Please register R1 as off-peak with TPR 374 and R2 as peak with TPR 375' Don't think it could be much more clear”

 

 

… or indeed more wrong, IMO.

TPR 374 is an offpeak E10 time pattern, matched by TPR 375 for peak timings:

SSC TPR Timings Name
 0935 00374 All days 0000-0500, 1300-1600, 2000-2200 Off Peak
0935 00375 All days 0500-1300, 1600-2000, 2200-2400 Peak

 

It rather sounds as if this is exactly the current (at the time) configuration of your meter. R1 was recording offpeak usage, R2 peak usage. So the metering team was quite justified in taking no action 🤷🏻

The problem is, as far as I’m aware, that DCC won’t have it. The first register (here R1, I’m guessing Tier 1, too) must record peak usage, so by extension R2 is for offpeak usage. 

I was in a similar situation and managed (with a little help) to persuade OVO’s metering people to swap the TPRs over, after which R1 is recording peak usage, R2 offpeak and all is rosy.

There might of course be other considerations that we’re not aware of, but I would have thought it worthwhile at least trying to swap the registers - the result could hardly be any worse than the current situation.

 

Noel | I have no official status; I'm just a volunteer who comes here to help other customers. My gear: Aclara SGM 1416-B Electricity-only E7 meter; Chameleon IHD3-PPMID-AAA
M
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Userlevel 4

So in the absence of me having a science degree from NASA in order to understand all this stuff, I am stuck with my meters changing times according to an E7 clock (when it should be E10). As well as this I am stuck with hopelessly incorrect billing despite three separate people from Ovo saying they have “carefully investigated my account and all is absolutely correct”.

This is quite definitely the worst customer service I have received from any company ever. It is definitely the sort of ineptitude the ombudsman should be made aware of, but I am losing the will to live here. Perhaps the consumer money pages of a sunday broadsheet might be interested??

 

Tim_OVO
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Userlevel 7

Sorry to hear this, @MikeMilf. It’s really tricky for us to comment with anything of value here if your verdict is that the advisor you’re speaking to is wrong.

 

You’re able to request that this complaint is escalated within OVO, and if a resolution can’t be reached the Energy Ombudsmen can mediate between the Complaints team and yourself till a resolution is agreed. 

 

I hope we can get things sorted out with minimal further effort from you.

Carbon neutral - we need a community to get there! My green tech: Aclara SGM 1411-B smart meter, Chameleon IHD6
M
Rank
Userlevel 4

Im an accountant so am used to dealing with figures day in day out.

Fact of the matter is, if any member of Ovo staff had genuinely investigated my account, they would have seen the issue in about 5 seconds flat. Anyone who cant see that I havent been been billed for any usage for nearly four months shouldnt be working in a billing team. For that reason alone I feel I have been lied to.

Maybe I should keep quiet and just let a huge bill build up? I bet the minute they realise their error, they will want their money immediately. Thankfully I have the financial discipline to set money aside away from Ovo, but any poor sod who takes Ovo emails at face value would be royally screwed.

 

 

M
Rank
Userlevel 4

Well the formal complaint has gone in….

I wasted another hour on the phone this afternoon, only to be told yet again that all was as it should be on my account. When I requested that he put in writing that there would be no amendments to my account as of today, he somewhat unsurprisingly said he wasnt authorised to do that.

Let see what happens…..hopefully someone in the complaints team undertands tariffs/meters and can read an invoice properly

 

M
Rank
Userlevel 4

Im speechless….

When I raised a formal complaint in the past with SEB, it was very quickly responded to by a senior person in their complaints team and the matter was dealt with inside the eight weeks. They werent exactly pleasant to deal with, but I was proven correct and received sensible compensation.

My formal complaint went in to Ovo last week and what do I get? The same brain dead response that makes me think they are being written by bad AI bots rather than anyone who actually looks at my account

This is what I just received:

Hello Mr.xxxx

I'm xxxx, a Customer Care Expert from Account Management Team 70.

I'm emailing regarding the last few emails that you've received and the confusion behind them, At the time of my email, the issues had already been resolved, the confusion is likely due to automated responses that will come through. I have still left the complaint open on the account for you as you were looking to raise a formal complaint of which I completely understand, the complaint reference number stays the same but I have attached the complaint you have written up. Also from what I can see you do have a smart meter and it is communicating with us so the meter reading won't be necessary. Apologies about the confusion, I hope this clears everything up for you.

So yet again they state everything has been resolved and is all cleared up!!

I owe them money for incorrect billing and no one at Ovo gives a toss. Ive just tried to ring them again, but again after 40 mins on hold, I had to give up.

What the hell do I do? Just wait out the eight week formal complain period then trot off to the ombudsman? I really want this cleared up sooner than that

 

M
Rank
Userlevel 4

Great…..I type another pretty lengthy post regarding a nonsensical reply to my formal complaint and it gets pulled by moderators.

I didnt swear and didnt mention names

I swear Ovo Energy are going to put me in the nut house

 

M
Rank
Userlevel 2

Great…..I type another pretty lengthy post regarding a nonsensical reply to my formal complaint and it gets pulled by moderators.

I didnt swear and didnt mention names

I swear Ovo Energy are going to put me in the nut house

 


 

You have my sympathy.  I’ve had error after error since being fully migrated in August.  The stress is really getting to me.  Their current ploy seems to be to try and ignore me as I’ve had no response to my last few emails.  They make up random amounts and change previous bills at random.

 

Starting to think it’s not just the Ombudsman but the police fraud squad that need to investigate them.

M
Rank
Userlevel 4

Hi Maureen

Sorry to hear you are suffering as well

Im an accountant by trade so am used to looking at invoices day in, day out. How anyone at Ovo can say “We have carefully investigated your account and it appears all is it should be” is utterly beyond me. I would spot the issue in about ten seconds flat

I wonder what happens when say a year down the line, someone realises a huge mistake has been made and I receive a massive bill? Whats the betting theres something in the small print that allows them to demand immediate payment or else?

Abby_OVO
Rank
Userlevel 6

Hey @MikeMilf 

 

Sorry to hear this is still ongoing.

 

 

Great…..I type another pretty lengthy post regarding a nonsensical reply to my formal complaint and it gets pulled by moderators.

I didnt swear and didnt mention names

I believe your other post was initially picked up by a system filter, and not by one of us directly, but that has since been approved.

 

Let me speak to Forum Support and have them look into this further for you again. 

Location: Electric Avenue
P
Rank
Userlevel 2

Like you I was migrated from SSE and was on E10 and a smart meter. The problems I have had mirror your problems, i.e. reversed readings and no bills for 5 mths! I think I am also on E7 timings although locally the meter is switching the storage radiators on E10 timings. Resulting in 5 hours extra per day at peak rate! 

A complaint is currently with the complaint Resolution team, who accept there is a problem and have promised a reprogramming and reset of everything! 

We shall see! 

It's nice to know I'm not on my own!

M
Rank
Userlevel 4

Hi Pegem

Yeah - I guess us ex-SSE customers are a really lucky crew lol!

I emailed my complaint to the correct complaints email address, but all I seem to get are generic responses from the hello@ovo address

Today I got a lovely response saying I appear to be using an email address not associated with my account so they would not be replying. Strange - its the same email address I log on to their site with and to which theyve replied to me multiple times. (Albeit every response seems to be either dumb or economical with the truth).

Interesting that you havent had a bill either in five months, Have you had multiple emails stating everything is as it should be ? That alone should be reason to wipe the readings and start again….but when the time comes i know they wont

Please keep me updated on any progress. This thread has become a means of stopping me punching walls after the latest ovo email. Currently I cant see any other resolution but the ombudsman at the moment.

What a monumental waste of time!

 

P
Rank
Userlevel 2

I had 'your emails wrong' I just resent my email! Sorted! I got 50% of my credit balance refunded and reduced my DDM to £5 just to keep it active whilst they sort this sorry mess out! I'll let you know what happens!

Emmanuelle_OVO
Rank
Userlevel 7

Hey @MikeMilf, 

 

Sorry to hear this,

 

I’ll ask Forum_Support to reach out, they’ll be able to confirm the email address listed on your account. 

Renewable Energy? Big Fan.

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